Mailbag - June 26, 2003
Do you have any comments or questions about the PlayStation 2 or anything to do with videogames? If so, e-mail me and I'll post and answer the most interesting letters and questions here. Even if your e-mail isn't posted, I will still try to reply within 1-5 days (depending on how complex your question is):

Answer me this why in the hell did I spend 50 dollars on Xenosaga and those dorks just gave me half a game. You should have seen the look on my face when I beat the last boss, who wasn't at all difficult and had to save the game and wait for the next game to come out since it is to be continued. This is just a ploy by the manufactures to get paid twice (see 50 dollars) for the same game. Them's some greedy ..... BITCHES$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Matt: Well, yeah, they are in the business to make money. But you must remember that the entire Xenosaga storyline is massive -- why do you think they have 'Episode 1' in the title? If they made the entire story into one game, it would last about 300 hours because there are six Episodes total. Maybe more. Even if they combined Episodes 1 and 2 into one game, they would be losing too much money. Episode 1 took 3 years to finish and if Episode 2 was included, it would take at least 5-6 years total just for two parts of the story. Paying the programmers, artists, etc for 5 years of work without releasing the product yet would be a helluva lot of money.

I can understand your disappointment though. The last boss was one of the easiest bosses in the game. Anyway, Xenosaga is less than 6 months old, so you should be able to get $15-$25 if you sell it.

Pantalones are overrated

clearly FFX-2 is not a game I'll be able to play with my pants on

Matt: Right you are.

I have a bridge in New York I'd like to sell you

I was wanting to know if it's possible to burn cds on the latest model Playstation 2. I read about this in a magazine and the code to be entered in the browser is as follows:

up, down, up, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start.

I am baffled as to what "b," and "a" are and where to enter said code if this is legitimate. Please post something or mail me if anything is found out.

-Jon-

Matt: Wow. I am surprised that someone actually fell for that, because logically, a PS2 would need a hard drive or another CD-ROM drive with burning capabilities in order to get the data on a blank CD-R. So yeah -- you got pwned.

Random Crap

What If Saddam Hussein survived the bombing last week, but lost a leg... How pissed-off do you think his doubles are?

Matt: Funny.

Anime

Is there a Steel Angel Kurumi game for the ps2 or the old playstation?

Matt: Maybe in Japan but I definitely know that there isn't such a game here in the States.

SOCOM 2

Hey, i think the sites great and has helped myslef and many of my friends on hooking up our PS2's. I just got SOCOM online about two months ago, and today when i registered my clan into socomclans.net i saw an advertisement about SOCOM 2... this made me a little bit mad, because me and many of my friends just got the game online, and we find out that a new one is coming in a few months. i was talking to someone, and they told me some great things to hearabout the sequel. they said that it can support 16 vs 16, and that the maps will be huge.

that sounded good (but i didnt undersand how a connection could be able to do that) it sounded great except for some speculations, but what got me pissed was he told me that you are going to have to PAY for SOCOM 2 (and he said like 10-15 bucks a month!)!! Is this a fact, or just a rumor. SOCOM is anamazing game and extreamly addicting, but to have to pay for it is obserd! Thanx for your time, and keep up the good work! --Phil

Matt: Hi. Actually, you have until November to worry about SOCOM 2. So you and your friends have the whole summer to enjoy SOCOM 1. There is still 16 players total online, not 32. New maps will be much larger and they are working hard on bring the old maps into SOCOM 2 online. You can even call in air strikes.

And at this time, SOCOM II will be totally free to play online. I'm not sure where he got that $10-15 BS from. Those type of fees are for online RPGs.

The kiddies hate me.

I cant believe you gave Midnight Club 2 a 7.9. How stupid is that? I
mean it is the best racing game I have ever played since ATV Offroad Fury 2,
and that is saying something, considering I was so dedicated to that game that
I got every gold trophy, won every race, etc.

Anyway, my point is that you did not do a very good job at reviewing the game
(no offense) and that it is an awesome game. I only rented it for 3 days, and
made it to dice. I got 16.3%, but it is still the best game I have ever played
and I am going to get it this weekend.

And you know how you said that you dont like going through checkpoints? would
you rather have some kind of set track which would take away all the challenge
of the game. Also, if your bored you can also screw around in the city.

I do have to admit. The music does suck, but who cares. Dont like it turn it
off, or change the song. Bet you never figure that out. The controls are great
(except Hector's Car slides to easy).

The best thing about the game is the way the city is designed. I mean I just
love cruising around on the roaming mode (if thats what it is calle) and seeing
the sights of LA, like the Hollywood sign on the hill.

I do have to admit though. The replay value isnt as great as it could be, but
it would still be worth a second time through, but no more. The create a race
mode is what keeps this game fresh, however.

Another good thing is the

Anyway, it is an awesome game, and your score was a disgrace. It should be
something like this:

Matt: That's fine that you didn't like my review, but you must realize that 7.9 is NOT a bad score. If you only consider a game worth purchasing if it gets 8.5 or higher, then I might as well make our official index a 5-point scale. Also, I am not going to give a game a 9 just because everyone else thinks it deserves a "9". I rate games depending on how MUCH I enjoyed it, not how I think other people will like it. If everyone in the world liked the exact same crap, then everyone would be driving the same car, wearing the exact same clothes, etc.

Much like you, I also thought the game was friggin incredible for the first 2-3 days. However, I rate games AFTER at least 8-15 hours of gameplay (longer if its an RPG). If I rated games after only playing it for 3-5 hours, just about every game I have reviewed would get a great score. In this case, I palyed Midnight Club II for 6 days straight. After I beat the story and arcade mode, I desired something more. Such as the ability to upgrade/modify your car. And yes, I DID spend a couple hours just driving around and admiring the view. I also took the game online.

Also note that I enjoy more realistic games like Gran Turismo 3 where you can upgrade real life cars and such. Yes, racing around in a circle can get repetitive, but the challenge and the actual upgrading of the real cars, etc, had me hooked. I love tuning up cars. I am kinda messed up that way.

Finally, note that I still recommended the game even though I personally believe that there are flaws. If I said something like "don't buy this game! you will regret it!", then I could see why you would get angry, because I would be hurting a game that deserves to be on MOST (not all) people's gaming shelf. Don't get me wrong, I like (not love) Midnight Club 2, but I needed to mention the flaws.

Anyway, thanks for your feedback. I am glad you didn't just rant on and on with "you suck!!" or any of that other pointless crap. Although the "your score is a disgrace" comment is kinda childish because not everyone can love the same things as you. Despite the disagrement, I hope you still continue to visit the site.

Counter-Strike for PS2?

Hi Matt. I have a quick question. I'm well aware of a Counter-Strike game that is coming to the Xbox soon, but what about a PS2 version? Have you heard of anything about it? Can you contact one of yoru homies at the game company responsible for it? Thanks for your help.

Matt: Hi. No, Microsoft gobbled up Counter-Strike for themselves. Maybe a couple years down the road with a new version of Counter-Strike, but it won't be happening any time soon. We have SOCOM 2, so its all good in my opinion.

Semi - Nude Dead or Alive Pictars

ok i know that this is a ps2 site but i have dead or alive volley ball on x-box and i have been working hard to get the venus suit in the game. if you don't know what it is it is a swimsuit with barely anything on it. i cant unlock that damn venus suit! so could you send me some pictures of the girls wearing it? thanks and keep the site going.

Matt: I have movies of the venus swimsuit in action, but this picture wil have to do for now. Enjoy.

Game Design

Matt, I'm a 17 year old guy who is interested in making games for a living. I know I have to go to one of those "game schools", but I have a really great idea that I want to start right away. I can't tell you the concept or you might steal it (no offense). Can you please give me some tips? Thanks for your time.

Matt: Make a design document first, which is basically a script for the game. It includes the storyline, concept artwork, a basic idea of each button's function, a rough draft of the dialogue (if needed), gameplay details, etc. If you suck at drawing, get someone to do it for you -- as concept art is really important. Good luck.

Web cam

i have a idea. how bout you put up a web cam so we can all watch you while you work on the site!

Matt: Yeah....uh...no.

I want me PSP porn!

matt i read your coverage of the psp and it sounds great but whill i be able to put my porn on it? seriously, im not trying to be funny here. i think it would be great to carry my porn on my portable playstation. thx if you reply

Matt: It supports MPEG 4, so I don't see why not.

More PSP goodness

I, like most people, owned a Game Boy back in the early 90s and after reading about Sony's portable Playstation, I'm really excited about it. However, I have some burning questions regarding it. 1. How much will it cost? 2. Since it uses little disks, will it "skip" easily like CD players if you move around too much? 3. Will the screen be bigger than the one on the Game Boy Advance? 4. Can I play it in the dark without buying additional stuff? 5. What games will launch with it? Thank you for your time and please get back to me soon. - Mark Boyer Jr.

Matt: 1. Still way too early to tell. The price of the parts (such as the processor) and such will be different when it comes out Christmas 2004. 2. Probably not. 3. Yes, it is more than 1 inch larger than the GBA screen. 4. Yes, it has a built-in light. 5. Final Fantasy VII-2. Okay, I made that up, but I can wish, right? No developers have announced any projects for the PSP yet, so it is too early to know which games will launch with it.

"Interesting" Japanese PlayStation 2 Games

First of all, I love yur web site and I visit it almost everyday. NOw, I just have a really small request. You know the game for PS2 called Primal Image? As you probably know, it didn't come out here, so I was wondering if you could post some pictures from the game? I noticed that you posted those sexy Bloody Roar 3 and BMX XXX pictures, so you probably won't mind doing it for Priaml Image, right? Anyways, I hope I'm not bothering you. Take care and good luck with the site.

Matt: Thanks. I received hundreds of e-mails regarding those Bloody Roar pictures. :) Anyway, for starters, forget all about Primal Image. There are a lot better games in that genre for the PS2 in Japan. Just check out the pictures below. No, I didn't create those games using Photoshop. Those are actual PS2 games released in Japan and other parts of Asia. All you do is watch the women play around in pools and such, but the cool part is that you can move the camera around in real-time and in any direction by using the Dual Shock 2. You can even zoom in and out. It is the same technology used to create the famous bullet-time special effects in The Matrix: Reloaded. Believe it or not, but Sony's music department created some of the games below. And no, each game doesn't really have any nudity. Please be patient as the images load for you 56k peeps.

Metal Gear Solid 3

is it true that mgs3 won't have a radar?

Matt: Yes and no. For people who simply suck, they can enable a radar similar to the one found in MGS and MGS2. However, the game is intended that you play without a radar. Instead, MGS3 will play more like Splinter Cell, in which there is a meter that tells you how hidden Snake is.

More Metal Gear Solid 3

holy shit dude, i just watched the full MGS3 tailer you posted and i nearly craped by pants. but i have a question. how come snake looks pratically teh same. i mean, in the back round it says 1961 or somehitng like that, so did i miss something does snake not age? also, what the hell is snake saying at the end of the movie? thanx for geting back to me.

Matt: That's one of the reasons I am convinced that that isn't really Solid Snake, but rather Big Boss. Also, while he is standing in front of the fire, it appears that he is missing an eye. At the end, Snake is asking the solider what the "release date" is.

Send your questions, letters, rants and other crap here, and I'll try to get back to you within 1-5 days. If you have a question about Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, please see our Vice City pages before you send me mail. If your question deals with the Official Sony Network Adaptor, please see this page. Thanks.